New Delhi

Filmmaker Anand Gandhi and game designer Zain Memon will make their debut as authors with "Maya: Seed Takes Root", an original science-fantasy novel slated for release worldwide on August 25.

The novel is published by Authors Equity in New York and distributed globally by Simon & Schuster. The audiobook, published by Simon & Schuster Audio, is narrated by Hugo Weaving, while neuroscientist and author Anil Seth has written the foreword.

Billed as a mythology for the age of artificial intelligence, big data and narrative control, "Maya: Seed Takes Root" is set on the fictional planet Neh, where seven intelligent species connect through a network of Maya trees that allow shared dreamscapes and the prediction of future events.

The story follows Kshar, who seeks to defy a future foreseen by the ruling 'Divyas', and 'Yachay', a 19-year-old maker of riddles who has never connected to the Maya network, setting the stage for a conflict over power, destiny and free will.

“We’re living through the greatest experiment in narrative control in human history. Every platform is a Maya tree, every algorithm owned by a Divya. We wanted to make that visible, and imagine what ‘better’ might look like," Gandhi, director of "Ship of Theseus", said in a statement.

The fictional universe was developed over five years with contributions from more than 200 writers, game designers, filmmakers, biologists, architects, linguists and artists from around the world, creating original species, ecosystems, technologies, languages and political systems.

“This isn’t another chosen one story. It is about the systemic nature of control and the unexpected places where resistance takes root. Every character believes they are doing the right thing, even those orchestrating mass suffering," Memon said.

Seth describes the novel as “a book of extraordinary riches... provocative philosophical nuggets wrapped in a narrative both sweeping and immersive.”

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"'Maya: Seed Takes Root' is the first entry point into a broader narrative universe that will expand across books, games, films, graphic novels, toys and immersive experience," the publishers said.